Soviet Ports Of Call

September 20, 1985

Next month, a Soviet destroyer and frigate are to visit the Mexican port of Vera Cruz. This has prompted an expression of ``concern`` from the State Department and some ridiculously excessive outrage from the radical right of the U.S. Senate. A group of 30 such senators have even attempted to amend the pending immigration bill to deny Mexico any U.S. loans or credit if it dares admit any Soviet ship capable of carrying nuclear weapons to its harbors.

The United States has more than enough problems in this part of the world without this kind of aggravation. Bankruptcy is something it`s trying to help its Latin American trading partners avoid. A precipitate cutoff of credit would be disastrous to Mexico.

The Vera Cruz visit is hardly the sinking of the Maine. Soviet ships have long been a presence in Cuba, much nearer the American mainland. For that matter, Cuba`s Guantanamo Bay continues to harbor American warships, and the Soviets have wisely refrained from trying to prevent that. When one considers the difficulties the U.S. Navy has encountered visiting ports of call in friendly nations nervous about nuclear weaponry, this kind of hysteria seems counterproductive. What if nations began banning both Soviet and American warships to avoid this kind of controversy? With nuclear weapons now compact enough to fit in an infantryman`s backpack, rowboats could qualify as nuclear- capable vessels.

The credit cutoff measure, sponsored by Sen. Steve Symms (R., Idaho), won the support of 30 senators, mostly Republicans, even though it was opposed by the administration. It`s depressing to think that nearly a third of the Senate could be so lacking in sense.